In one embodiment of the present invention, a computer-implemented method for obtaining a command of a user includes capturing an image of the eyes of a user. The coordinates of a glint center point and the coordinates of an eye center point are calculated from the image. The gaze direction of the user is calculated from the coordinates of a glint center point and the coordinates of an eye center point to determine a corresponding command.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A system for obtaining a command of a user comprising: a camera configured to capture an image of the user; an image capture module configured to retrieve the image from the camera; an image analysis module configured to i) determine whether brightness values of pixels in the image are within a color threshold, and average coordinates of pixels within the color threshold to determine coordinates of a glint center point from the image, and ii) determine coordinates of an eye center point from the image; a gaze direction determiner module configured to determine a gaze direction from the coordinates of the glint center point and the coordinates of the eye center point; a typing interface module configured to determine a command corresponding to the gaze direction; and a display configured to visually present the command to the user.
2. The system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the camera is an infrared camera.
3. The system as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a speaker configured to audibly present the command to the user.
4. The system as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a tutorial module configured to present a tutorial to the user.
5. The system as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a text-to-speech module configured to convert text of the command to speech.
6. A computer-implemented method for obtaining a command of a user comprising: capturing an image of a user; determining coordinates of a glint center point from the image; determining coordinates of an eye center point from the image, wherein the step of determining coordinates of the eye center point includes: a) identifying a first set of edge points having a shape from the image; b) identifying a second set of edge points from the shape of the first set of edge points; and c) averaging coordinates of the second set of edge points; determining a gaze direction from the coordinates of the glint center point and the coordinates of the eye center point; and determining a command corresponding to the gaze direction.
7. The method as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the second set of edge points represents a pupil.
8. The method as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the second set of edge points represents an iris.
9. The method as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the step of determining coordinates of the eye center point further comprises: d) identifying a region of pixels in proximity to the glint center point; e) determining whether pixels in the region is within a color threshold; f) averaging coordinates of the pixels within the color threshold; and g) calculating a weighted average of the coordinates obtained from steps a)-c) and from the coordinates obtained from steps d)-f), wherein the weighted average of the coordinates is weighted based on a confidence of the second set of edge points conforming to a circular pattern.
10. The method as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the second set of edge points represents a pupil.
11. The method as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the second set of edge points represents an iris.
12. A computer-implemented method for obtaining a command of a user comprising: capturing an image of a user; determining coordinates of a glint center point from the image, wherein the step of determining coordinates of the glint center point comprises: determining whether brightness values of pixels in the image is within a color threshold; and averaging coordinates of pixels within the color threshold; determining coordinates of an eye center point from the image; determining a gaze direction from the coordinates of the glint center point and the coordinates of the eye center point; and determining a command corresponding to the gaze direction.
13. The method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the step of determining coordinates of the glint center point further comprises removing regions of pixels in the image wherein the regions are not within a size threshold.
14. The method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the step of determining coordinates of the glint center point further comprises removing regions of pixels without counterparts from the image.
15. A computer-implemented method for obtaining a command of a user comprising: capturing an image of a user; determining coordinates of a glint center point from the image; determining coordinates of an eye center point from the image, wherein the step of determining coordinates of the eye center point comprises: identifying a region of pixels in proximity to the glint center point; determining whether pixels in the region is within a color threshold; and averaging coordinates of the pixels within the color threshold; determining a gaze direction from the coordinates of the glint center point and the coordinates of the eye center point; and determining a command corresponding to the gaze direction.
16. A system for obtaining a command of a user comprising: a camera configured to capture an image of the user; an image capture module configured to retrieve the image from the camera; an image analysis module configured to determine coordinates of a glint center point from the image, and further configured to a) identify a region of pixels in proximity to the glint center point; b) determine whether pixels in the region is within a color threshold; and c) average coordinates of the pixels within the color threshold to determine coordinates of an eye center point from the image; a gaze direction determiner module configured to determine a gaze direction from the coordinates of the glint center point and the coordinates of the eye center point; a typing interface module configured to determine a command corresponding to the gaze direction; and a display configured to visually present the command to the user.
17. The system as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the camera is an infrared camera.
18. The system as claimed in claim 16 , further comprising a speaker configured to audibly present the command to the user.
19. The system as claimed in claim 16 , further comprising a tutorial module configured to present a tutorial to the user.
20. The system as claimed in claim 16 , further comprising a text-to-speech module configured to convert text of the command to speech.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
October 21, 2011
May 13, 2014
Browse 5M+ US patents with plain-English claim translations and AI-generated analysis.